For the native Texas plants in this native Texan's garden, anything but death is a victory!

Update: Stock Tank Pond

This absolutely has been one of my most favorite garden additions! It’s relatively maintenance free, with the exception of topping her off if the water gets low and adding a once a month fertilizer tab. To see when Budge and I first made the pond, check out this post.

The Colorado water lilies 2 weeks ago. They’ve been sending up blooms every day.

A paper wasp, I believe, getting a drink from the lily pad.

The frog sees all.

The papyrus practically exploded after I gave it a fertilizer tab and a bigger pot.

Up close and personal: Dwarf Papyrus bloom. 🎶Walk Plant like an Egyptian🎶

The blooms only stay open for a few hours during the midday, but they’re glorious for that short while.

The following photos were taken today (2 weeks from the previous).My newest garden art addition, the phallic ice cream cone looking stained glass window that’s been sitting in my kitchen for the better part of a decade. I think I’ll paint the frame a different color. Any suggestions?

And to remind myself that there’s still work to be done, I give you the trodden on dirt “path” around the pond. Also, a toddler lives here. My darling boy.

All in all, the dragonfly population at my house is up, the mosquito population is down (thanks to the heat and maybe the dragonflies?), and the water is fiiiiiiiiiiine.

Perfect size pond for everybody! It’s amazing how fast the wasps, bees, and dragonflies find the water. I’d go for very deep purple on the frame but I can’t tell exactly the shade of red in the stained glass–may not work if it’s too ruby-ish. But I love re-purposing indoor stuff outside or sometimes the other way around!

I have to agree that it’s the perfect size! The husband actually wants to do another bigger one now though…I think the wildlife would agree with him. 🙂 I love the idea of doing purple for the frame (our house and garden shed are purple) and think it would go well, the red is actually a pinkish color, so I don’t think it would clash? And re-purposing is the best…especially when you’re on a garden budget!

Thank you! I can’t agree more about the papyrus. It’s like fireworks all summer! And Wenge is beautiful. I just googled it and LOVE it. We’ll definitely have to sample that one too. Thanks for the suggestion!